Type-writer attachment.



Patented May-2|, 19m. A. .1. SPEARE.

TYPE WRITER ATTACHMENT.

(Application filed Dec. 3, 1900) 4 Sheets'-Sheot (No Model.)

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No. 674,482. Patented May 2|, I90l.

A. J. SPEABE.

TYPE WRITER ATTACHMENT.

(Application filed Dec. 3, 1900.) (No Model.) k 4 Sheets-$heet 2.

m: NORRIS PITIRS 00.. mo'rmurua, wuwnavon. n. c.

Patented May 2|, l90l.

4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

A. J. SPEABE. TYPE WRITER ATTACHMENT.

(Application filed Dec. 3, 1900.)

(No Model.)

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No. 674,482. Patented May 2|, |90l.

A. J. SPEARE. TYPE WRITER ATTACHMENT.

(Application filed Dec. 3, 1900.)

4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

(No Model.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT ANDREW JACKSON SPEARE, OF WVESTPLAINS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- HALF TO EDWIN C. MARKHAM, OF SAME PLACE.

TYPE-WRITER ATTACHMENT.

4 L 5 ECIFIGA'I'ION forming part of Letters Patent No. 674,482, dated May 21, 1901.

Application filed December 3, 1900. Serial No. 38,465. (No model.)

To (LZZ whom it may concern; ism to reduce the number of necessary coop- Be it known that 1, ANDREW JACKSON erating parts to a minimum. SPEARE, a citizen of the United States, resid- A further object of the invention is -to gening at Westplains, in the county of Howell erally lighten the construction of type-writ- 5 and State of Missouri, have invented a new ing machines and remove therefrom all parts and usefulType-Writer Attachment, of which which are liable to become disarranged and the following is a specification. intermittently inoperative and materially re- This invention relates to type-writing-maduce the cost of manufacture and have an inchine attachments for regulating the lettercreased speed of operation possible without 10 space feed of the carriage, for rotating the liability of breakage or impositive impresplaten to shift the paper, and for returning sions of the type-bars. the carriage after the completion of a line or- With these and other objects and advana portion of a line by depressing a key contages in view the invention consists in the veniently located in relation to the keyboard construction and arrangement of the several 15 at the front of the machine. parts, which will be more full; hereinafter The primary object of the invention is to described and claimed. avoid the necessity of the usual practice of In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective operators in returning a carriage to position view of a type-writing machine with some of to begin a line or portion of the line, and the parts removed and embodying the fea- 7o 20 which involves the use of one hand at least tures of the invention, parts of the latter bein engagement with some part of the caring shown in dotted lines. Fig. 2 is a rear riage, and afford means for quickening the end elevation of the machine, particularly speed of operation of the machine through showing the main devices for shifting the carthe medium of a key operatively connected riage. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical sec- 2 5 to positively-acting carriage devices and potion through the rear portion of the machine, sitioned in the keyboard organization, so that showing the improved letter-space-feeding an operator can readily press the same withmechanism. Fig. 4; is a detail perspective out requiring the elevation of either hand view of the rear carriage-rail and a part of and the loss of time incident to the latter opthe carriage, showing the manner of supporto eration. ing the carriage-shifting rack-bar. Fig. 5 is A further object of the invention is to proa longitudinal vertical section through the vide simple and. efiective means for giving keyboard portion of the machine looking the carriage and the platen carried thereby a from the rear toward the front of the same step-by-step letter-space feed and to overand showing the construction and arrange- 5 come the annoyance and delay frequently enment of the carriage-shifting key. Fig. 6 is countered in the present constructions owing a bottom plan view of the platen-carrying to the same sticking or becomingdisarranged portion of the carriage in part, showing the and entirely inoperative by causinga ratchetimproved mechanism for rotating the platen and-pawl mechanism to operatea pinion and and shifting the paper. Fig. 7 is a top plan 40 the latter a regularly-toothed rack instead of view of the ratchet-and-pinion mechanism for having the pawl devices engage a ratchet-bar, the improved letter-space-controlling devices. as in many machines now in use, and thus Similar numerals of reference are employed reduce the number of parts necessary for said to indicate corresponding parts in the several operation and avoid the use of intricate and views. 5 small mechanical constructions. The numeral 1 designates a machine-frame A further object of the invention is to pro-- of a well-known shape and'construction and vide a simple and efiective platen or paper comprising an upper carriage and incidental shifting mechanism havingahorizontal movemechanism supporting bed 2 and a lower ment instead of a rotary or upward movekey-lever and keyboard-frame 3, the key- I00 50 ment, asin previously-constructed type-writboard portion of the frame being banked, as ing machines, and in this particular mechanusual, for obvious reasons. The carriage 4 is provided with front and rear slides 5, engaging and longitudinally movable on rails 6 on the supporting-bed 2, and within the carriage is a platen 7, which is adapted to be turned up to expose the work for alining and other purposes without elevating the carriage as an entirety. To the rear slide 5 of the carriage bracket-arms 8 are secured near opposite extremities and extend rearwardly over the hack of the bed 2 and have their rear terminals rigidly secured to a longitudinally-extending rack-bar 9, with cog or gear teeth in the lower edge of the same, which are held in continual mesh at some point with the teeth 10 of a shifting sector 11, held by the upper divergent members 12 of an arm 13, having a lower terminal sleeve 1+1, which is rigidly fixed on the rear end of a shaft 15, extending transversely through the center of the lower key-lever and keyboard-frame 3, the sleeve 14 engaging the rear end of the shaft exteriorly of the said latter frame. The front end of the shaft 15 has a cross-arm 16 secured thereon and located inside of and close to the front end of the frame 3, and pivotally attached to the lower end of said arm is the elbow or angle of a bell-crank 1ever 17, having a long member 18, terminating in a key'shank 19, extending vertically upward through the front edge of the keyboard at one side on the right, as shown by Fig. 1, and having a key-head 20 thereon. To the short arm or member 21 of the bellcrank lever the inner end of a draw-bar 22 is pivotally secured and has its outer end bent at an inner angle and apertured to slidingly engage an operating-rod 23, having its outer extremity loosely held in a guide 24:, fixed to the front end Wall or side of the frame 3, and at its inner terminal said rod has a slotted or bifurcated head 25, pivotally attached to the upper end of the cross-arm 16. Between the outer angular terminal of the draw-bar 22 and the head 25 a coiled spring 26 is mounted on the rod 23 to absorb the shock or jar incident to the operation of the shaft 15 and the vibration of the sector and rack directly related thereto and to the carriage of the machine. When the key-shank 19 is depressed, the draw-bar 22 is moved on the rod 23 toward the shaft 15, and the spring 26 is compressed on the said rod until sufficient force is created to overcome the resistance to turning offered by the shaft and set up by the Weight of the sector 11 and the friction between the la ter and the rack-bar 9. As soon as this resistance has been overcome the shaft 15 will be revolved toward the right, the sector 11 turned in an arc in the same direction, and the carriage 4, through the rack-bar 9, will be moved correspondingly. The extent of movement of the carriage will depend on its position, or, in other words, the length it has traversed the bed 2 toward the left, and it is obvious that this operation may be effected to only partially return the carriage toward the right or fully in such direction in accordance with the desired point of beginning of a line or word on the sheet or paper carried by the platen. W'here rapid work or movement of the machine is required, considerable delay will be avoided by the use of the shifting mechanism set forth, and after pressure is relieved from the key-shank 19 the spring 26 will return the draw-bar and bellcrank lever to normal position without dragging on the shaft 15 or the crossarm 16 thereon in view of the pivotal connection of the said bell-crank lever to the cross-arm and the freedom of the angular terminal of the drawbar to slide on the rod 23. It will also be understood that when the carriage is feeding toward the left of the machine the sector will be gradually moved over in the same direction, and said sector will fully occupy a left position when the carriage will have reached a full-line run, the right end of the sector then being in engagement with the similar portion of the rack-bar 9, considered from the front of the machine. When the carriage is returned to the right to begin a line, the reverse portions of the sector and rack-bar will be in engagement, and the crossarm 16 on the front end of the shaft will be correspondingly moved.

The rear portion of the carriage at is also provided with a depending letter-space-feed rack-bar 27, which is in continual mesh with a vertically-dis iiosed pinion 28, situated in operative adjacency thereto and having a crown ratchet-wheel 29 rigidly fixed to the center thereof and having the teeth 30 thereof on the front side of the same. In the frame 3, at about a central point and extending longitudinally thereof, is afulcrum-rod 31, which is below the plane of the key-levers 32, as shown by dotted lines, and from the opposite extremities of the saidv rod 31 arms 33 project rearward and are immovably fixed to the opposite ends to an actuating-bar 34, the front ends of the said arms being movably mounted on the rod 31. The actuating-bar 34 is held at a higher elevation than the rod 31 by a spring 35, attached thereto or one of the arms 33 and an adjacent portion of the frame 3, and a depression of any one of the key-levers 32 or the spacing-lever of the machine, which rest at the rear on the said actuating-bar, will cause a depression of the latter and a corresponding spacing movement of the carriage above by means which will now be explained. The lower end of a connecting-rod 36 is movably attached to the said actuating-bar 34, and at its upper end the rod 36 is pivoted to the outer end of a swinging pawl 37, which is disposed on the right of the pinion 28 and ratchet-wheel 29 and has a tooth 38 to engage those of the said ratchet-Wheel. The -pinion and ratchet-wheel are mounted on a forwardly-projecting stub-shaft 39,secu red to a rear portion of the bed 2 and having a front head 40, the inner end of the pawl 37 having a sliding movement on the latter shaft between the ratchetwheel and the head 40 to allow the tooth 38 to play over the teeth of the said ratchet-wheel, and between the head and the pawl a spring 41 is mounted on the shaft 39 to normally maintain the said pawl in operative engagement with the ratchet-wheel. A down ward pull on the rod 36 by the depression of any one of the key-levers will lower the swinging pawl 37 over the ratchet-wheel the distance of one tooth of the latter, and upon release-of the rod 36 the swinging pawl will catch into an adjacent tooth of the ratchetwheel and turn it and the pinion 28, the latter moving the distance of one of its teeth and shifting the rack-bar 27 the same or a proportionate distance to feed the carriage over the bed the length or interval of a letter-space. By this operation the carriage can be fed regularly by a step-by-step movement without liability of the ratchet mechanism becoming disarranged or stuck, and whereby also the carriage will be prevented from jumping or misspacing. The spring 35 will always tend to restore the bar 34 to normal position and will exert sufficient retractile force to positively actuate the swinging pawl its full stroke. It is also proposed to have the carriage under the usual spring tension; but in some instances the feeding mechanism just explained can be employed in connection with carriages without spring-tension devices.

The platen 7 has at the right end a headratchet 42, and on the under side of the adjacent end of the carriage an angle-lever 43 is horizontally movably disposed and intermediately fulcrumed, as at 43, the front end of the said lever projecting through the rightend portion of the ,carriage and shiftable in a horizontal plane. On the under side of the said lever in rear of its fulcrum a ratchet-pin barrel 44 is movably mounted and normally disposed at an angle, and in said barrel a ratchet-pin 45 is slidingly mounted and held projected by a spring 46 to engage the headratchet 42 for the purpose of turning the platen, the position of the barrel, sliding movement of the pin 45, and the operation of the lever 43 permitting the pin to slide over and catch successive teeth of the said headratchet. The rear end of the lever 43 is slotted, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 6, and said slotted end is engaged by a connectingpin 47, also attached to the outer end of a guide 48, movably mounted on the under rear portion of the carriage and having an inner angular end 49. In longitudinal alinement with the guide 48 is a fixed lug or projection 50, which holds a longitudinal rod 51, movably projecting through the guide 48, and between the guide and the lug or projection and surrounding the said rod is a coiled spring 52, which is compressed when the lever 43 is shifted to the right to turn the platen, and when the said lever is released the spring returns the parts to normal position and during such return the pin 45 is reset in a succeeding tooth of the head-ratchet 42. This platenturning mechanism will be found very elficient for the purpose, and in View of the strength of the several parts they will withstand breakage and be capable of resisting severe strain.

The several attachments all contribute to the production of a superior type-writing machine and overcome numerous disadvantages existing in many of the present machines by reason of the use of small and delicate parts, and particularly to overcome the annoyance frequently arising from the common form of com pound dog mechanism employed for feeding the carriage.

Though the preferred form of the several attachments and their parts are shown and have been described, it is obviously apparent that changes in the form, size, proportions, and minor details may be resorted to without departing from the principle of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is 1. In a type-writing machine, the combination with a shiftable carriage carrying a platen and having a letter-space-feed rackbar, of a second rack-bar supported by and movable with said carriage and located in rear of said letter-space-feed rack-bar, a horizontally-disposed shaft extending from the keyboard at the front of the machine through to the rear of the latter and adapted to have a rotary motion imparted thereto, an extended toothed sector secured to the rear end of the said shaft and movable with the latter, the said sector having an extended toothed surface or edge and movable with the carriage as the latter is fed by the letter-space-feeding devices and also shiftable by the said shaft to return the carriage to normal position, and a vertically-depressible key at the front of the machine in the keyboard organization and operatively connected to said shaft to rotate the latter.

2. In a type-writing machine, the combination with a shiftable carriage carrying a platen, of a rear rack-bar supported thereby and movable therewith, a toothed sector in continual mesh with said bar, a shaft extending through to the front of the machine and having the said sector attached to the rear end thereof, a cross-arm on the front extremity of the said shaft, an angle-lever connected to one end of the said cross-arm,the said anglelever having an upstanding operating-stem, a spring-encircled rod movably attached to the upper end of the said cross-arm, and a drawbar slidingly mounted on the said rod and also movably attached to the angle-lever.

3. In a type-writing machine, the combination with a shiftable carriage carrying a paper-holding device, of a rear rack-bar supported by and movable with the said carriage, a toothed'sector in continual mesh with said bar, and a depressible key having a resiliently-controlled draw-bar for actuating the said sector.

4. In a type-writing machine, the combination with a shiftable carriage carrying a paper-holding device, of a rear rack-bar supported by and movable with the said carriage, a toothed sector in continual mesh with said bar, a shaft connected to said sector, a crossarm on the shaft, and a depressible key having a resiliently-controlled draw-bar attached thereto for operating the said cross-arm and shaft.

5. In a type-writing machine, the combination with a movable carriage, of a toothed rack-bar secured thereto, a pinion directly engaging said rack-bar and having a crown ratchet-Wheel secured to the front side thereof and movable therewith, a swinging pawi having a forward projection engaging said crown ratchet-wheel, and a lower movable element connected to said pawl and depressible by the key-levers and spacing device of the machine to give the carriage a step-by-step movement.

6. In a type-writing machine, the combination with a movable carriage, of a toothed rack-bar secured thereto and movable therewith, a pinion directly engaging said rack-bar and having a ratchet-wheel attached to the front side thereof and simultaneously rotatable therewith, said ratchet-wheel being of less diameter than the pinion, and a swinging pawl engaging said ratchet-wheel and operated by a depression of the key-levers and spacing device of the machine.

7. In a type-writing machine, the combination with a carriage or support for a platen, of a horizontally-movable lever fnlcrumed on the under portion of said carriage or support, a ratchet-pin movably mount-ed on the said lever, a head-ratchet on the adjacent end of the platen, and means for returning the lever to normal position.

8. In a type-writing machine, the combination with a carriage or support for a platen, of a horizontally-movable lever fulcru med on the under portion of the said carriage orsupport, a head-ratchet on the one end of the platen, a ratchet movably mounted on the said lever, a guide movably secured to the rear end of the lever, and a projection in alinement with the guide and carrying a spring-encircled rod movable through said guide.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

ANDREW JACKSON SPEARE.

Witnesses:

M. M. FREEMAN, J. S. HALLOWAY. 

